The Wings of Justice
by Kishin Raijin
Summary: During a break from the war against the omnics, Jack Morrison finds himself in the headquarters, where Ana has brought her daughter along. Jack is very fond of the little girl, whose affected by a genetic mutation that made wings grow on her back. One of the wings, however, is stuck inside her body and puts her life in danger.


**The Wings of Justice**

As the war against the omnics continued to rage, Jack found himself with very little time to take even a little break, but it seemed like that day had finally come. He was returning from a tiring mission to quarantine a so called "God Program" stationed in Italy, not very far from Overwatch's headquarters. The battle lasted for almost one week, but in the end, thanks also to the experience of one of his most valuable companion, Ana Amari, the threat was taken down, along with the destruction of many Bastion units and Omniums.

The war was far from over, but the important victory achieved allowed the agents of Overwatch to take a breath before the next battle would begin. Wilhelm had returned to Germany without saying a word, probably to visit an old friend of his and Lindholm had taken the first flight home to a brief reunion with his family, however among the agents of Overwatch only a few were fortunate enough to have people waiting for them, so for the most part, they remained in the Headquarters where Angela could tend to their wounds.

Jack was the first to receive medical attention from the expert doctress, as his legs had been gravely wounded by an Omnium, just before collapsing in a ball of metal, leaving him limping on the way back.

«Had you not gone through that barbaric procedure, this wound would have probably killed you…the bullet just grazed the artery».

«Had I not gone through that, I'd be long dead by now» answered with a little smile Jack to the worrying face of Angela.

«Don't joke like that…sometimes you act too incautiously. I've already told you many times that sometimes it is not possible to protect everyone and you're a far too valuable soldier to throw your life like that». Listening to these words, wiped the grin off the face of Jack.

«I know far too well that I can't protect everyone and this is precisely why I did what I did» replied sternly Jack. The face of Angela became even more saddened.

«Losing your life won't bring…».

«Enough! » roared Jack «I was the captain in this mission, so it was my duty to call the shots, not yours! ». With that said, Jack stood up from the cot and went out of the infirmary without looking back, but briefly checking if the wound was completely healed. He knew that Angela was right and that she was just worrying not just for his health, but also for Overwatch. However, he couldn't stand that she tried to bring that thing back, just to prove her point.

Outside the infirmary, his angered eyes met a face that could bring them back to joy. Holding tight the hand of her mother, the beautiful and little Fareeha was scouting her surroundings with gleam in her eyes. Until those same brown eyes met the tall figure of Jack, at which point she ran towards him screaming in happiness.

«Uncle Jack! It's been so long! ». Jack joyfully took her in the arms and raised her over his head, making her spin like she was flying.

«Fareeha! How've you been!? Are you making progress with your mom!?» asked Jack with a big smile printed all over his face, while the sad memories brought back up by Angela faded away in a remote angle of his mind, where he wanted them to be.

«You can bet I am! I'll show you» Jack put Fareeha back on her small feet and bent to be at the same height of the little but energetic child.

«I've learned this…and this! » said Fareeha while exhibiting herself in a rotating high kick and a jump kick that Jack playfully blocked.

«You're getting so good at this! » exclaimed Jack gently caressing her head. «One day you'll be better than me for sure! ».

«I hope! I can't wait to join Overwatch just like mom and you guys! » replied happily Fareeha. However, when looking up, Jack met the cold and stern stare of Ana, whom was every bit opposed to see her child taking up weapons.

At that point Jesse, followed by Angela, came out from the infirmary and the exuberant child ran enthusiastically toward them, leaving time to the two leaders of Overwatch to discuss among themselves.

«You're not getting back to Sam this time? » asked Jack.

«I had a discussion with him…didn't want to spend more time on that subject, but I see that even here I'm not safe from that» replied with cold voice Ana giving a quick, upset look to Jack. «Moreover, Fareeha kept bugging me to visit the Headquarters». The commander of Overwatch knew perfectly well the subject on which she didn't want to discuss, but tried to talk about it nonetheless.

«She's wanted to join Overwatch for as long as I can remember. Besides, she's already very capable for a six years old, even you acknowledge this and with the help of everyone in the Headquarters, she has a bright future ahead…I still don't get why you're so against it». The look on Ana's face went from upset to furious, but her voice remained perfectly calm, just as it was expected from the cold soldier Jack knew form many battlefields.

«I don't like to repeat myself…». Jack raised his hands in sign of surrender. Fortunately, the intrusion of Angela interrupted the awkward situation that had arisen.

«Ana! I'm so glad to see you in perfect shape! » greeted Angela.

«Marhabaan Angela! » replied Ana with a smile which was carefully hidden from Jack.

«Where's Fareeha? » asked Jack while searching with his eyes all around him to find the energetic child.

«Oh, she's with Jesse. He's escorting her around and probably showing off some tricks with his old revolver.

«Speaking of Fareeha…» continued Angela turning to Ana with a worried expression. «How's it going with her problem? Has it hurt her again recently? ».

«Unfortunately, yes, Sam told me the other night she was convulsing in pain. It lasted something like ten minutes, but then she could fall back asleep almost immediately».

«I see…she's a very strong child. Don't worry Ana, me and Winston are working very hard to find a way to extract the one trapped inside. In the meantime, don't hesitate to call us if something happens».

«Thanks Angela, you and Winston have been a great help, I just hope there will be no need to cut them off…she likes them so much» said Ana, her eyes fixed at the ground with a sad atmosphere in them…not something very usual for the veteran Ana Amari.

At the words "cut them off", Jack couldn't stand to listen to the sad conversation any longer and just wandered off without saying anything. He had had enough sad moments during the latest assault to the God Program and had no intention to spend the little break from fighting, picturing the cute face of Fareeha in pain.

After a few minutes of search, he finally found Jesse with a small child at his side. From the back of the girl, Jack could clearly see an elegant, pitch black, feathered wing twitching as she was jumping around the cowboy. It was rare to see such mutations on humans, however, with the many enhancement programs brought forth by almost every government long before the omnic crisis even began, they were expected to appear more and more in future generations. Usually, they weren't a problem for the person affected and in some cases, they were even functional.

Jack, as well as any other, found that single black wing very beautiful. It gave Fareeha a unique look that made her resemble an angel…nothing more suitable for a pure child like she was. However, it was not supposed to be just one wing. The other, right wing never left the inside of her body, while continuing to grow. Eventually it attached itself to the lungs, making it impossible to extract with simple surgery.

Ana, obviously, went all over the world to get help, but even the best doctor and scientist in the world couldn't find a way to extract the wing in a safe way. Even trying to amputate it, was very risky. Meanwhile, the wing kept growing, becoming an even more threatening menace to the wellbeing of the child. At the moment, the only solution seemed to cut the root of the wing, in order to stop it from growing anymore. It was not a permanent solution as the part of the wing connected to the lungs remained inside her body, but it would give more time to develop a way to treat her properly. Furthermore, the wings shared the same root, so Fareeha would have lost also the healthy wing she was so proud of.

«Having fun young lady? » said Jack embracing Fareeha from behind and lifting her around like she was an airplane. She laughed as it seemed like she was soaring the sky in the firm grip of Jack, something she could have done in a few years with both her wings spread out.

«Do you like flying Fareeha? » asked Jack.

«Flying is the best. When my other wing will be free, I will join Overwatch and help you and mom and Jesse and all the others by protecting you from above». At her words, Jack felt like something stuck in the middle of his throat. Nobody had ever had the courage to tell her the truth and Jack was the most coward of them all…

«I'm sure you will. I can already see you! ». This was not a lie. Jack, inside his head, had pictured her flying many times before, but every time he spoke to Ana, Winston or Angela, that vision slowly faded away.

Jack was a soldier…one of the best there was, so his daily life, spent in the battlefield, was filled with sorrow and pain. His only bright ray in the world…the thing that had always drove him through the battle no matter how harsh it was, was the thought of someone dear to him waiting for his return. During the war against the omnics, that ray had been taken away from him, leaving just emptiness behind. However, when all seemed lost, there had been a smile, brighter than everyone else's, that gave him strength and hope. Jack could not bear to see that smile faint into sadness…again. Therefore, even if it was for a brief moment, he wanted to make Fareeha happy and he knew just the right thing.

«Fareeha, would you like to take a flight on the P38J? » asked Jack, anticipating her reaction at the idea of flying in an old fighter aircraft.

«Yes! Yes! Yes! » exclaimed Fareeha while jumping around in joy. Then she launched herself in the direction of the hangar simulating to be an airplane herself.

«Don't worry, I ain't jealous » said Jesse to Jack, while tipping his cowboy hat as a sign of goodbye to Fareeha.

As Jack expected, the only person that was still present in the hangar, was Lena. As always, she was practicing flight with the slipstream in a simulator…in a few weeks she would have tested the first prototype, but that's another story.

«Big sister Lena! » screamed Fareeha running toward the newbie pilot for Overwatch.

«Cheers Love! » replied smiling Lena, while crouching and ruffling the hair of the girl.

«Commander! » quickly said Lena, standing at attention as soon as she saw Jack enter the hangar.

«No need for that Oxton, we're on our free time» replied Jack. «Me and Fareeha are going to take the P38J, is it ready? ».

«I don't think so, but give me just ten minutes and you'll be ready to go wherever you want with it» replied Lena with her usual cheerful voice.

Jack, as one of the most capable and enhanced soldier of the U.S. army was trained on all kinds of things, however it was his father that had taught him how to pilot an old fighter from the last world war between humans. Not a useful skill in the modern aeronautics, but it sure paid off in times like these.

The airplane had only one seat, however, Fareeha was little enough that she could sit on top of Jack's legs and still be able to see the beautiful mountain scenery that surrounded the Headquarters of Overwatch.

Jack drove the airplane in the most extreme way, making quick turns, quick drops and slow rises, multiple barrel rolls etc. however Fareeha had no fear in her and continued laughing throughout the whole flight, while the commander was in pure bliss just seeing her having fun. "I swear I'll never allow you to be sad" thought to himself Jack, but without having the courage to say it out loud.

Everything was going smooth and the red light coming from the sun, signalling the beginning of the sunset, meant that it was almost time to end the little excursion over the Alps. Jack had already begun the landing, when a loud hail of bullets hit the tail of the fighter aircraft. That sound…he had heard it many times before and it was impossible to forget.

Jack managed to avoid the rest of the bullets that were ferociously hurled at them by the Bastion unit, but the aircraft could not soar the sky any longer. Fortunately, he found a small glade where he could land the P38J, however, it was not an easy task to land an old aircraft in such a tiny space. He would have had to perform a perfect landing…and it was almost so. The aircraft went just a bit longer, enough to end up between nearby trees and lose both wings. Jack shielded Fareeha by embracing her, so she ended up unhurt, while he was a tough soldier and some excoriations wouldn't have been a problem.

Fareeha exited the carcass of the aircraft, but she didn't seem afraid. Just like Ana always said…she had no fear at all. Conversely, she looked in confusion at the situation.

«Are you ok? » asked Jack worried. «Yes, I'm fine…really, I'm fine» replied Fareeha at the dubious expression from the commander. «But what was that? ».

«A Bastion unit…an omnic that me and your mother usually fight when we're away. It must have followed us till the headquarters…a persistent bastard»

«But why did he attack us? We weren't doing anything bad to him».

«Because he's evil... and evil just wants to hurt us…in every kind of way».

«So, you have to kill him? ».

«Yes, I'm going to make sure that justice prevails, but first, we have to bring you back to the headquarters safe and sound».

«I want to come with you to bring justice to that Bastion» said Fareeha pouting adorably, but this time Jack would not fell for her cuteness. The sole idea that the same circumstance would repeat again, gave him chills throughout the whole body.

His mind, just like that morning at the infirmary with Angela, could not avoid returning to that incident.

Alice…she looked very much like Fareeha, maybe that was why he felt so strongly for the little child of Ana and Sam. She had the same long black hair and shiny brown eyes. Those were given to her by her mother, while the only thing she had had from Jack was a back full of scales. She didn't mind and seemed even happy about it, but Jack blamed himself and his cursed DNA constantly, feeling guilty for not being able to give her a normal childhood. They were a happy family, until the omnics decided to rise against their creators. They killed them both…his wife and daughter…before his very eyes, while he could not do anything to protect them. This time, however, he was strong. He wouldn't have allowed the same tragedy to happen again.

«No, you're going to return to your mother as fast as…» but it was already too late. The mechanic sound of steps approaching meant that the Bastion had followed their trajectory and was coming to finish what he had started. Jack quickly pushed Fareeha inside the damaged aircraft, which was the only suitable shelter and waited in the middle of the glade. He hoped the Bastion wouldn't notice the little girl and focused its attention on him, however, he was without his rifle and the only weapon at his disposal, was a short knife found in the cockpit.

It didn't take long for the Bastion to arrive and as soon as it saw its enemy, it went in turret mode. Jack quickly evaded to his left and ran toward the wood, in the opposite direction of the crashed aircraft. Fortunately, the Bastion followed him. Jack hid behind many trees, but they were all mowed down by the hail of bullets shot out by the omnic. He knew he would have not last long this way, so he quickly searched for a solution.

The wood went uphill right in front of him and at the top, it was possible to see a great boulder that was waiting only to be pushed down. So, he ran up while evading as best as he could and hid behind the rock waiting for the Bastion to fall for his trap…but things were not so easy. Although a robot, the Bastion was smart enough to understand what was going to happen and climbed the slope on the side. Jack was now cornered, but the resources of a soldier, especially a commander, were hardly exhausted at only one plan.

The ground was soft and friable since it had probably rained recently. With the right stimulus it was possible to create a landslide that the Bastion would not have been able to predict. So Jack stood hidden behind the boulder, waiting for the Bastion to be close enough, then, thanks to his inhuman strength, hovered the boulder and slammed it down, causing an enormous landslide that gave the Bastion no hope. The problems, however, did not come to an end, as the landslide was now going to run over Fareeha inside the aircraft.

Jack ran down as fast he could, his heart beating like crazy, hoping to make it in time to save Fareeha. To make things worse, the Bastion shot at random while rolling down the slope and some bullets reached Jack.

Fortunately, he made it just in the nick of time and Fareeha was finally safe.

The Bastion ended up almost completely submerged by soil and it was then easy for Jack to finish him off with the small knife.

The two survivors finally returned to the Headquarters without further incidents. The little girl was unharmed, while the commander had multiple bullet wounds from which a lot of blood was gushing out.

Angela was the first to run to them.

«Oh my god! What happened Jack?! » screamed the doctress in shock, while her attention was completely focused on Fareeha, trying to figure out if she was wounded.

«A Bastion…couldn't avoid it…» managed to say Jack before collapsing a few steps in front of the door of the HQ. The wounds were not fatal for a soldier like him, however, they were too many and the quantity of blood lost was too high. Even Jack couldn't hope to survive much longer without treatment, so he was quickly transported to the infirmary were Angela worked hard to extract every bullet stuck inside his body.

Jack slept for at least three days. His body was powerful, but it also needed a lot of time to return at full energy. During the troubled sleep, he relived many times the encounter with the Bastion and the fear of not being able to save Fareeha. Each time he could save Fareeha, the nightmare begun from scratch.

Finally, he awoke in the dark room of the infirmary, completely alone. He felt still dizzy, but his energies were completely recovered so it was easy to stand up and walk. The HQ was strangely deserted and quiet. He wandered aimlessly for a few minutes searching for his comrades, but he couldn't find anyone except for Jesse that was smoking his cigar on the panoramic balcony.

«Good morning little princess» greeted him jokingly Jesse. «You sure took your time».

«Where is everyone McCree? Is Fareeha ok? » asked anxiously Jack. The expression on Jesse's face quickly went from cheeky to gloomy and after some internal thoughts, the cowboy finally responded.

«Look, this has nothing to do with me, so I don't have any right to say anything…but I think you should at least know this».

«What are you talking about Jesse? » urged him Jack with a worried tone in his voice.

«Last night I saw Amèlie running away from HQ with a sleeping Fareeha in her arms. I don't know any of the details, but I heard her speaking in French with someone and she took off with a helicopter that seemed to be coming from a hospital.

«This is all I know…what you will do with this information is none of my business».

«Amèlie…what could she possibly do with Fareeha» murmured Jack lost in his thoughts. «Wait, a hospital…maybe something happened to her…HER WINGS! » finally screamed Jack coming to a plausible conclusion.

He ran as quickly as he could toward the hangar. «If Amèlie is involved, then they must be in Paris…» thought Jack while jumping inside the first fighter jet of Overwatch he could find.

It took him just a few minutes to arrive in Paris where he forcefully landed the jet in the airport, asserting his authority as Overwatch commander. However, there were at least three big hospitals in all Paris and he had no clue where Fareeha could have been taken. So, he ran toward the nearest hospital hoping to find her there.

«I'm searching for a girl named Fareeha Amari, is she here? » Jack repeated the same question in each of the three hospitals and each time the response was negative, contributing to increasing his agitation.

There were only minor clinics left to check, but it was very unlikely that Fareeha ended up in one of them, so there was really no much of a point in searching her there. However, there was still one place that he could check…the old mansion, property of the Guillard family. As far as Jack remembered, inside the territory owned by the ancient French family, there was a small hospital considered one of the most prestigious in all of France.

Therefore, Jack quickly took off with his aircraft and headed to the southeast of France. During the flight, a bad premonition struck his mind. Why would Amèlie, of all people, be the one to take Fareeha to a hospital…it was implausible that Ana was unaware of the situation. So why wouldn't she leave a message for him, explaining the situation? "The helicopter…" suddenly understood Jack, "The small hospital near the Guillard mansion doesn't have a heliport, so it must have been a scam to lead me to Paris…Something is going on that nobody wants me to know…and I fear I know what it is". With these thoughts in mind Jack finally arrived at an airport nearby the mansion and, thus, in just a few minutes, was in front of the hospital.

«What's happening!? » screamed furious Jack when he saw Ana waiting for him in front of the entrance. «Tell me! ».

«Please…calm down Jack…you have to understand there was no other choice» said Ana, her voice unusually disrupted by sadness. However, Jack didn't let her finish and ran inside completely dominated by both fear and anger. It didn't' take much time to find the correct room. Inside he found Amèlie, Gerard, Angela and Winston tending to a hospital bed where the small and fragile body of Fareeha was lying motionless.

«She's fine, she's just sleeping» quickly said Angela before jack could scream again. However, the relief coming from knowing she was fine, was quick to vanish when Jack saw that there was no wing coming from behind Fareeha.

«What…What have you done? » managed to say Jack falling to his knees next to the bed, his heart broken, while the pictures in his head that portrayed Fareeha soaring the skies with her wings, burned down.

«She had another crisis when you were unconscious» said Amèlie. «Her life was not in danger, but Ana couldn't stand seeing suffer her like that anymore» added Angela. «I know you don't like this…trust me, nobody does…but I think it was the right choice» said Winston. His eyes could not even look up to meet Jack's distraught stare. «The hidden wing was becoming too much of a threat and I don't think it was possible for us to find a solution in time. With the operation, though, we managed to almost completely remove both wings and the remaining piece left, is so small that doesn't put her life in danger».

«Did she know? » asked coldly Jack staring at every person in the room, but nobody could face him. «I asked if she knew about this! » his voice filled with anger.

«You know how hard it would have been on her…» tried to say Amèlie, but could not finish the sentence as Jack's hand was quick to tighten around her neck.

«YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THIS! IT WAS HER FUTURE! » screamed Jack as the words were like knives while leaving his mouth. His vision was getting blurry and red with the blood rushing to his head. His mind had stopped reasoning well before that moment and was now completely unable to face a hard truth. Just because he couldn't tolerate to see the beautiful future of Fareeha, where she was able to fly on her own, vanish, it didn't mean that the choice taken by Ana was wrong. It took both Gerard and the incredible strength of Winston to save the life of Amèlie from the madness of Jack.

As Jack came to his senses and reason returned to his mind, Angela spoke the words that he was hiding inside himself for all this time: «You're right, we didn't have any say in the matter, but Ana did. She's her child Jack, not yours…you have to understand this one day or another…I'm sorry to say this, but Alice died and Fareeha will not be her replacement…».

«I-I…know…but it's so hard…she has her same smile…her same aspirations…she's so much like her» said Jack, his voice disrupted by sobs.

«I know Jack, we have always known that you felt like she was Alice» said the voice of Ana that had finally arrived in the room. «This is why I was more than happy to see you play with her…to see you so enthusiastic about her…and why I didn't want to involve you in this decision. She will have to blame me and only me for her wings. Please continue to watch over her like you've always done».

«I will…».

Many years have passed since that sad day. The war against the omnics ended, Overwatch was disbanded and his members scattered all around the world. Some of them continued their activities, some died and Jack, just like Ana, is thought dead.

Now Jack is travelling the world acting as a vigilante, but the hope for the future that drove him during the Overwatch days is gone. All he does is punish gang members and delinquents as he's a sort of killing machine without emotions.

His travels have brought him to Egypt, at the Giza plateau. Rumours have been spreading about a God Program still active and that Helix Security International is taking care of the problem. Jack, as stubborn as he is, doesn't trust anybody else with the task and so he has decided to take down the God Program himself.

He is just arrived before the big temple, when a loud noise coming from above his head force him into hiding. "Those punks from the Helix are finally here, with their shiny suits…" thinks Jack but doesn't have the time to finish as one of the soldiers in the Raptora suit screams something that leaves Jack with his mouth wide open.

«Pharah! Stay alert for movements on the ground! ».

«Yes Captain! » screamed in response the Helix guard. Jack cannot believe his eyes nor his ears. He satays hidden as to not attract any attention, while staring with a big smile on his face at the guard flying, completely covered in the black combat suit.

"Ana…she's finally flying and protecting us from above" thinks Jack as he pulls back from the temple, knowing full well that there is no need for his presence anymore.

END

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